Back Track
by writerluv
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha are getting married! Taking advantage of this, Terri, Kagome's half-cousin, goes back to Japan to attend the wedding but, more importantly, to research her paper on feudal Japan. But the next thing she knows is she's living it Ses/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello! Well, this is my first Inuyasha story, so please do be kind. Flames are welcomed as long as they are constructive. Read, write and review! Have fun!

Chapter One: Childhood Memories on the Temple

The area was cramped and crowded; the air, stuffy. The smell of perspiration, coming off of every person in the plane, filled the nose of the already impatient woman in seat G 32. She desperately wanted to turn on the air conditioning, but it was just her luck: out of all the flights going to Japan, she just had to pick the one with the broken A.C. Sweat rolled down her neck and her frizzled, brown hair clung to her neck like a desperate child to its mother. The girl badly wanted to get her carry-on out from the over-head bins, but, again, luck was not on her side: she was squished by two unsavory people who both insisted on raising the arm rests, taking up most of her seat and refused to even get up and allow her to go to the bathroom (she eventually did when one of them had to go, though it did take a flight attendant to get him to let her back into her seat).

A from behind person coughed constantly, sending his germ-ridden between the seats to her. She practiced the deep-breathing techniques her teachers took the liberty of teaching her, in order to help calm her down. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't. Fed up with it all, the woman turned back towards the sick man.

"Do you honestly have to cough on me?" she hissed at the poor man. His eyes widened in fear as the wrinkles stretched outward. "Cover your mouth next time you have the urge to make someone else sick." Her green eyes narrowed on him before turning forward again and into her silent moodiness.

_Ugh! I can't get any work done!_ She thought remorsefully. _I guess I can't really blame these two losers—_she looked annoyingly at her two unwanted companions—_for my procrastination, but they didn't have to be real jerk-faces and throw all my things up without consideration because they thought my backpack would take up too much space._ Sighing, she glanced down at her crowded feet._ At this rate I'll never get anything done! _She lamented once more.

Her mind wondered further and further into the depths of her vast imagination. Her eyes became heavier and heavier; the anger and frustration she held dissipated by sleep.

_The midday air was humid; hardly a cloud covered the blue sky. The ground, still wet from last night's rain, baked under the sun's rays. Bits of weed and grass peeked from the ground, despite being drowned in the onslaught of rain. Though, a new danger approached, threatening the lives of the surviving flora. Muffled steps echoed on the wet ground._

"_Terri-chan! Don't leave me," cried a little girl with black hair swinging at her waist. Another girl, a bit older than the first girl, ran around the well house. The second girl poked her head from behind the well house wall and stuck her tongue out in pride._

"_Catch me if you can, Kagome-chan!" she cheerfully shouted back. This exchanged continued for a few more minutes before the younger girl finally tagged the older one by the sacred tree._

"_I got you I got you!" Kagome happily announced and jumped up and down in excitement. "Now you're it!"_

"_No, I'm not," Terri turned her nose away from Kagome in disdain._

"_What? Why not?" Kagome complained to her older cousin. Terri triumphantly used her left hand to point to her right, which was currently resting on the wide trunk._

"_I'm on base, and, even if you did catch me, I don't want to play anymore. I want to play 'House'" Terri merely stated. Kagome looked rather dejected and pleaded her elder cousin to change her mind. Terri, holding her ground, refused to even think about thinking about changing her mind._

"_Well, could I at least be the mom today? I'm tired of playing the dad," Kagome informed Terri, who pondered a moment on how to resolve this issue._

"_Okay then, you can play the mom…" Terri said. Kagome for a brief moment brightened but then became sad once more because she knew her cousin had a trick up her sleeve, like an impossible task or something. "…but you have to be able to climb the tree!" Terri's evil smile couldn't contain itself any longer; she knew of her cousin's phobia of heights._

"_But Terri-chan…I can't!" Kagome cried. Terri became uncomfortable with the situation; her aunt and grandfather would soon come out and blame her for not taking better care of Kagome._

"_Come on, you big baby." Terri put Kagome on her back, and they bother climbed the tree together. Kagome kept her eyes shut, until Terri placed her on a firm branch. Slowly, Kagome opened her eyes and began to draw a smile across her face._

"_Look, Terri! I'm up! I'm up!" Kagome happily screamed. "So, can I play the mommy today?"_

"_No," Terri replied curtly. Kagome's smile faded a little._

"_Why not?" she whimpered._

"_Because I'm the oldest, so I'm going to get married and have babies first," Terri answered. Kagome merely replied with an "Oh."_

_Off in the distance, the door slide open, revealing a woman with shiny, black hair—much like Kagome's—sticking her head out from inside._

"_Lunch!" the woman happily replied before noticing the two children in the tree. "Kagome! Terri! Get down from there!" Kagome, too scared to get down, clung onto the tree tightly. Terri, on the other hand ,began to climb down. Noting that her cousin wasn't following her lead, Terri climbed right back on the limb and put Kagome on her back again._

"_Jeez, are you really this big of a baby?" Terri whispered somewhat vehemently at Kagome. Kagome said nothing._

"_Oh, how can you two be so careless?" Kagome's mother embraced the two of them then took a step back to see if there were any scratches on them. "Nothing to big, though there are a few minor scratches on your palms…but how could you get your pretty, new dress so dirty?" Kagome's mother addressed Terri, who glanced down at the pick and laced dress her mother sent her a few days ago. When it arrived in the mail, the dress had beautiful, white lace that was trimmed at the bottom o f the dress. Now, the dress was smeared with mud, and the lace became brown._

"_Let's get you both cleaned up before lunch," she said, leading the two children inside. While Kagome was worrying whether her mother would punish them or not, Terri just wished her own parents were this caring as her aunt._

Terri woke up as the turbulence grew more sporadic.

"Attention please. We are currently experiencing some turbulence, so please put on your seat belts," the pilot ordered over the PA. "But this won't affect our arrival at all; we're still on schedule." The same announcement was then made in Japanese.

Terri wanted to sleep for another few minutes or so, but the flight attendants were already out and about, ordering people to put up their trays and seats back into right position. She sourly stared at the window across the aisle.

_Well, Kagome, you've beaten my childhood logic; you're getting married first._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all for reading this story! I'm content, as far as I'm concerned. So sorry for not updating earlier (I meant to on Sunday) but got tied up with essays. Essays. And more essays. So, this is the second chapter! Read, write and review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or its characters.

Chapter 2: Greetings from the Family

Stepping off the plane was like a relief to the woman who endured fourteen hours of non-stop coughing and butt-holes of neighbors; near freedom danced on her lips—she could almost taste it.

Terri's heart fluttered with each step she took on the familiar carpet; the triangular patterns haven't changed a bit since her six years absent. Unlike the other passengers who barely dragged themselves across the way, Terri stood out by skipped down the terminal in her favorite, blue, ducky pajama pants and her Happy Bunny shirt she received as a birthday present from her dearest friend, Jackie. But the only thing that could possibly stop the blissful woman in her tracks: the long line going through customs.

_I guess I can't pick and choose what remains unchanged._ Terri thought bitterly. The excitement! The anticipation! Any and all positive emotions stirred rampantly and caused all fibers of her being to shake. _But I can't wait to see Grandfather, Aunt, Sota and Kagome, not to mention her new fiancée!_

Remembering, Terri pulled out a small photo album with random characters on the front and opened to the first page. Three happy faces stared right back at her. An old man, hunched over, wore the traditional kimono for well respected patriarch of a temple. Though his eyes glared intensively and his snow-white beard covered his obvious frown, and many would say his wrinkled, withered face resembles a toad, his passion for his temple's history and love for his family canceled out the weirdness. To the man's left, a middle-aged woman smiled warmly toward the camera. Her eyes twinkled with a certain kindness and humor that everyone who has ever met her always admires. Her hand rested on the shoulder of a young and spritely boy. His wide smile captured his whole personality as a caring and energetic lad.

_Everyone looks so happy! I wish I could have visited more often…_Terri flipped to the next page. Next was a candid picture of a youthful graduate with long, silky, black hair and another youth, wearing a baseball cap over his oddly silver hair, staring at each other lovingly. Kagome beamed as she looked into man's golden eyes; a certain happiness that Terri had never seen before emitted from her kin's aura. Then, she shifted her eyes to the man who embraced Kagome with so much love and passion. A small smile was impressed upon the strange man's face; Terri had the feeling that Kagome's fiancée hardly ever truly smiled before meeting her cousin.

She was glad that they were happy.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! Please step forward!" A customs guard yelled at the top of his lungs. Terri hastily stuffed the photo album back in her bag and drew out her passport and customs form before rushing to the desk.

The man took all the documents and looked inquisitively at both them and her. Terri had the odd feeling that he was mainly judging her by her unusual apparel and naturally brown hair (very foreign to black hair dominated place like Japan).

_I'm still a Japanese citizen…until next year…_the disgruntled passenger bitterly thought. The guard, still curious, continued to compare the passport picture, the forms and the woman, all at the same time.

"Can I go now?" Terri snapped at the slowness of the man before her. Surprised by the abruptness of the woman before him, the guard clumsily stamped the visa in and handed back her passport. "_Arigato_," Terri sweetly smiled. "_Dansho_." She added under her breath.

" Terri, Terri! Over here!" someone called, grabbing the attention of Terri Johnson, as she walked out of customs. Confused, she scanned frantically over the sea of people coming in to pick up friends and relatives and people leaving for the person calling her. Then, spotting a hand waving above the heads, Terri pushed against the stream of people to a family of an aging woman with a smile that could light up a dark room, an old man hunched over in a traditional kimono and boy in elementary all ran in excitement to the weary traveler. Terri dropped her heavy messenger bag on the ground to embrace the family from her picture. After the initial thrill of seeing each other for the first time in years, they all made their way to the luggage pick up.

Stealthily, Grandfather came up behind his beloved granddaughter and pinched her arm.

"Ow!" Terri cried in shock. She stared angerly at her grandfather. "What did you do that for?" she asked while nursing her arm.

"For not writing to your poor grandfather more often and letting your kanji slip," he said, holding under the pressure of Terri's gaze.

"Well, it's not exactly my fault…" Terri said, averting her eyes. She of all people knew that it was her fault for not keeping better contact; she should have stood up to her father when it came to things important, like her family in Japan. "And besides," she added defiantly, "my kanji is as good as ever."

The area was filled with noise of people chattering happily to each other or yelling into the phone. Sounds of the automatic doors let in the real world noises of people flagging down taxis to cars honking on the street to mix in with noises already present inside the building. The walls were covered with bright and gaudy colors that created brilliant but obscure shapes. Children waiting for the luggage to come out on the caracals laughed at all the things they saw between the heavy, dark lines.

"Passengers from American Airlines flight 2250 from Atlanta, Georgia to Narito Airport, please go to caracal number three. Again, passengers from…"

"Well, that's my flight!" Terri cheerfully said, picking up her carry-on. They navigated through the populous until arriving at the third caracal.

"It's going to be awhile since I checked in early," she said as she sat down on a nearby bench. "Come here, dear cuz," Terri ordered the small boy. Sota, the boy, eagerly climbed up on the bench and sat next to his cousin. "You have to tell me everything. I haven't seen any of you for, well…" Terri looked down on the top of her cousin's black head to consult the time that has passed. "…eons. Definitely eons. Last time I saw you, you were still pooping in your pants!"

Everyone laughed at Sota's expense; Sota chuckled uncomfortably as his cheeks turned into light shade of pink.

"Oh, don't worry," Terri said as she hugged her cousin, "you won't be the subject of ridicule much longer. You're sister, on the other hand, is a very good next contender. So, why aren't she and her beau here to hug me and rejoice in my second coming?" Terri asked and raised her eyebrow. Her cousin and grandfather looked worriedly at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say. How on earth were they going to explain the current situation? Her aunt remained calm and smiled.

"She and Inuyasha are planning some last minute details."

"Good reason as any other," Terri said, shrugging off the missing people, and began to search for her luggage from the distance. Sota and Grandfather immediately relaxed when she looked away.

_But something's not right. Why were they so worked up for?_ Terri wondered for a bit.

She saw the different variation of bags circling and began to count how many times the same bag would go around and remain unclaimed.

_Oh, that's a cute, blue bag. And so many stickers! Wow, whoever owns that bag and I are so alike. Oh. Oh!_ Terri leaped into action and retrieved the hard-back suite case from the caracal. She picked up two more suite cases, a pink and a black one, as well. All looked shocked by the number of bags she brought back.

"Are those all your clothes?" Sota asked, as they walked to the train station. Her aunt urged Sota to take one from her. Grabbing the black bag, Sota had a hard time even to move the bag an inch from its current location.

"Clothes?" Terri lifted her messenger bag. "All my clothes are in here."

"Then what do you have in here?" Grandfather inquired. He played with the locks before accidentally unleashing an explosion of books. Everyone within a five centimeter was drenched in words and history.

"I hope you two will put those books back in. It took me two nights to just pack that one!" She pointed accusingly at the two.

_Two nights? Two nights?_ Sota and Grandfather thought wearily.

"It's not that hard," Terri responded to their silence. She picked up all the books and placed each of them strategically in the bag. Ten minutes later, all the books and papers were back in their rightful places. "Come on…we're going to be late for the train."

.~.~.

The scenery passed right on by at top speed. The landscape became a jumble mess of purples, greens, blues and whites. The hills and wide, blue sky disappeared in an instant when the train entered a tunnel. Terri could see her reflection and all the reflections of everything going on in the train. Sota was reading a manga (Usagi-Yasha); Grandfather flipped through the pages of one of her books; Aunt knitted a sweater for next year's Christmas present. The other passengers were sleeping peacefully, playing card games or something equally as entertaining.

A sudden chill ran through her entire body. Terri could hear her heart beating in her ears. Something was there in the train and watching them all with evil intents. Never before did she feel such an awful feeling before. Suddenly, a pair of amber eyes appeared in the windows.

"Agh!" Terri screamed and covered her eyes out of fear. People all around looked on at the frightened woman. Her breathing barely steadied to deep breaths in and shallow breaths out. Her adrenalin came down almost immediately.

"Are you okay?" Her aunt came and comforted her like she did when Terri was a small girl.

"Yea, I'm completely fine. Just a bad dream." Terri shrugged off the creepy feeling. A wave of light nausea overcame her but quickly passed. What was wrong with her?

.~.~.~.

Terri still felt a little uneasy but ignored it as much as she could. She wiped off sweat that rolled onto her forehead, as she chopped tofu into little cubes for the miso soup. Her aunt watched over the rice while chopping vegetables to put in the soup too. Sota played outside. Grandfather was off in an abandoned room…doing whatever he did with moldy books.

"So, when do I get to meet to almost newlyweds?" Terri asked, breaking the sounds of knives hitting cutting boards and cicadas buzzing in the twilight.

"They should be here today," her aunt replied, smiling at the prospect of actually seeing her daughter before the big day.

"Whatever. I can totally tolerate their absences as long as I get a hefty portion of your world famous curry!" Terri joyfully announced. Her aunt's smile immediately turned to shock.

"Well, after a mishap…let's just say Inuyasha isn't the biggest fan of curry." Terri raised an eyebrow and looked rather disgruntled.

_Well then. I guess they HAVE to be here or else I won't be a very happy cousin._

"I'm going to go take a bath before nightfall!" Terri told her aunt.

"Okay, dinner is going to be ready in ten minutes!"

Exiting the kitchen, Terri began to relieve herself of her sordid clothing.

_Ew, sweat stains._ She thought ruefully when her took sniff at her shirt. _Definitely going to be soaking this one tonight. _She continued to walk down the hall now in her baby-pink tank top. Her bare felt the familiar wood flooring, and her fingers touched the walls of her childhood. Happy and lost memories flooded back to her in an instant. Since her middle school years, she felt at peace for the first time.

A strong gust from nowhere came and knocked her down and out of her thoughts. Then, two blobs of silver and black mixed in with a little brown darted in front of her and beat her to the bathroom.

_Was that…no. I MUST be going crazy._ Terri debated with herself.

"Hi, Terri-chan!" a voice shouted jubilantly from the bathroom. It was unmistakable: her cousin with her fiancée was home. Chuckling, Terri got up and proceeded back to the kitchen.

"Oh, I thought you were taking a bath," her aunt said as Terri opened the door. Dragging a threadbare cushion from one of the nearby shelves, Terri situated herself on the ground.

"I was, but two ruthless characters beat me to the punch. Kagome and Inuyasha," Terri added, clarifying the situation. Her aunt beamed with the news that her daughter was finally home.

An evil smile began to spread across the young woman's countenance. "Are you honestly going to let them bathe together?"


End file.
